I Want You To Be Proud
by CBrooke92
Summary: Emma wants her father to be proud of her. She wants to prove that she's strong and could be the daughter that she knows James wishes he had. But will everything turn out Ok? Or will her father have to come to the rescue? Rated T just to be safe. Enjoy!


**James and Emma one-shot, of course! Snow's in there too, but I tried to make it more about Emma and James. I wrote this in like 30 minutes so sorry if it sucks. Anyways, Enjoy and Review!**

Now she was trembling, fear and pain coursing through her veins like a burning venom, turning her insides to mush. The chimera, which was running around in the woods of Storybrooke, seemed amused as the shaking blonde got on her feet and raised her father's sword again. She tried hard to mask her terror, to not show how each step hurt more than the last. Emma glared at the beast, eyes fierce, as the sun's light bounced off of the blade. She would not give up. She didn't need James's help. Not now, not ever.

Her grip on the sword tightened and, with a determined cry, she rushed the chimera once more. Her blade seemed to slice right through the beast at first, appearing to easily destroy it. Then, in an unseen turn of events, massive claws sliced trough the air. Before the attack could even register with Emma, the wickedly sharp claws tore into her, and sent her flying off of Toll Bridge. Seeing the ground rushing towards her, Emma began to wonder why she had taken on this creature without her father.

A mile away, James was looking over the map of Storybrooke, trying to pinpoint were the chimera may be. All of a sudden, he sensed that his daughter was in danger. In mere seconds he was sprinting. Sprinting where, he doesn't know. All he knows is that Emma was in trouble and as her father, it was his job to protect her.

After running for god knows how long, James finds himself at Toll Bridge. Scanning the area, he finds his daughter laying in the shallow river. He rushed to her side and fell to his knees. James wraps his strong but gentle arms tenderly around her beaten body. The sight of her was almost too much for James to bear. Her gray long-sleeve shirt was bloody and torn nearly to shreds, her hair tangled in the bright red liquid, and he assumes that bruises had already began to form on her legs and arms. Emma's face was untouched, but dirty, and the usual brightening glow, the one that he loved so much, had vanished from her features. She looked tired, she looked hurt, and for the first time ever, she looked defeated.

"D...Dad..." She looked up at him with surprise, then a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. Emma closed her eyes, and let herself sink into unconsciousness.

James sat there in the river with his daughter when he heard the creature approach them. He reached into the water a pulled out his sword. James held Emma close and pointed his sword at the chimera. "COME ON!" He taunted the beast. Anger and raged coursed through his body. He's defended his daughter before and by god, he'll do it again.

As the creature started to charge, James threw the sword which penetrated its chest. The chimera barely seemed fazed and continued to charged towards them. James, running out of options, shield his daughter by turning his back to the beast. He braced for what's to come next but instead he hears a whistle of an arrow fly through the air. Glancing back, he sees the chimera with an arrow in its side. Then there's 2, then 3, 4, and finally 5. As the creature falls to its death, James looks up on the bridge to see his wife with her bow. The battle was over.

"Emma! Charming!" Snow cried as she ran through the icy river. When she knelt beside her unconscious daughter, Snow saw the red water that flowed around them. "Oh my god! Emma!"

"Snow!" James yelled, snapping his wife out of her panicked state. "We need to get her back to the apartment and out of these wet clothes."

"Ok! Ok! Oh God! She's freezing!" Snow said as she tied her scarf around the claw marks the bled from Emma's side. She grabbed James's sword and helped her husband and daughter into the back seat, then covered them with a blanket. Starting the car, she drove everyone home.

At the apartment, Snow set out a blanket so James could lay Emma down on the couch before he headed off in search of bandages. Snow stayed with her daughter and removed what's left of her shirt. She also removed her soaked shoes and jeans then covered her with a towel. James returned moments later with several roles of gauze.

"Charming, you need to go change. Get out of those wet clothes." Snow ordered him.

He was going to protest but then caught on to what is wife was saying. She didn't want him around when she bathed and bandaged Emma's wounds. So he left to change and came back when Snow said it was Ok.

When her wounds were clean and bandaged, Snow dressed Emma in one of Charming's flannel shirts and a pair of sweats. After having her husband lay Emma down in their bed and pull the covers up to her chin, Snow realized that she should call Red and inform her of what had happened. She asked her to take care of Henry until tomorrow because Snow didn't want him seeing his mother like this.

During the night, Emma stirred in her sleep and rolled over, letting out a few whimpers. Snow and James began to wonder if she was having a bad dream, and worried slightly that she'd wake up just enough to realize her situation and make things worse for the both of them. But she simply burrowed further into the covers and slept on, and they blew out a sigh of relief. At least the explosion would wait until morning.

Somewhere in the night James must have fallen asleep. When morning rolled around, he cracked an eye to find his head inches from Emma's. She was still peacefully asleep, and he could not help but smile. From this angle, and with such a tranquil expression on her face, James could actually see the parts of him and his wife. Emma's chin and nose where from Snow, but her eyes that hide under her eyelids where definitely from him. Feeling rather content, he let himself wake up slowly. James finally sat up and looked at the clock. Then he did a quick double take as he realized that this "morning" was actually closer to one in the afternoon. He was rather surprised that Emma hadn't woken up and tried to kill him yet being that they aren't as close as she and Snow. With a sigh he gave her a gentle kiss on the head and headed into the kitchen.

On the counter he saw a note from his wife. _Went to get Henry and pick up a few things. Take care of our baby. Love you. Snow. _James smiled and continued his way into the kitchen. "She'll probably be hungry when she wakes up." He muttered to himself, pulling bacon and eggs out of the fridge. "She's Emma, she's always hungry." He chuckled. That's another thing he and Emma shared. They're both always hungry.

James made quick work of putting on bacon, mixing pancake batter and frying some eggs for the two of them. Thank god Snow should him how to do this. Just as he was finishing he heard quiet muttering from the bedroom. She was finally up was she? Without thinking he went to stand in the doorway of the bedroom. In retrospect he realized how lucky he was not to have been attacked on sight. Emma had just sat up, her blonde hair tumbled down her back. As she yawned and rubbed her eyes, James thought that there could be no sight more beautiful. Then, her sleepy eyes fixated on his.

"James? What happened? Why am I in yours and Snow's bed?" Emma fingered the flannel shirt, "And why am I wearing this?"

"Um...don't you remember?" James was rather unsure how to handle this situation without his daughter attacking him. God where's Snow when you need her.

"No I don't! And where's Snow and Henry?" Emma asked as she leapt out of bed, only to suck in a sharp breath and topple over onto the floor in pain.

"Emma!" James moved only half a second after she did, and knelt at her side, worriedly. "You OK?"

"I think it's coming back to me...about what happened." Emma said, still clutching her side. She then sat up and turned her head to meat his gaze, her eyes full of shock and wonder. "You came for me...but, how did you know I was in trouble?"

"I always know when you need me." James smiled, still knelt at his daughter's side. "By the way, why didn't you call me and tell me you found the chimera? Why did you insist on fighting this thing on your own?" Normally, Emma would have ignored him and would say something defensive, but he said it so lovingly she decided to let him get away with it, just this once_._

"I...I" Emma stuttered.

"Out with it." James said quietly.

"I wanted to prove to you that I was strong on my own. That I'm not just someone you need to protect. I wanted to be the daughter I know you wished you had. But...it didn't work out so well." She looked down, letting her tears fall, unable to meet his gaze.

"Oh Emma!" James said kindly, and Emma's eyes looked up again. Without warning, he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her, pressing her face lightly into his chest, and resting his head on top of hers. Emma's body reacted without her permission as she relaxed into his embrace, and her fingers curled into his shirt. "I already knew you were strong. Emma, you are exactly the daughter I wished for. Even better. You brave, independent, loyal, smart, and you have my charming good looks." He got Emma to laugh but her eyes widened in shock when he said those other things, and by now her cheeks must have been red.

James pulled away and Emma felt oddly disappointed. He smiled at her, and stood up. "Well, breakfast is ready, princess. It's into the dining room with you." Before she could protest, James scooped Emma up, bridal style, and carried her off to the kitchen. Again, Emma's body reacted on its own as she hooked her arms around his neck and rested her cheek on his shoulder with a sigh. Maybe, just maybe, having James as a father wasn't so bad after all.


End file.
